1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a food chopper, and more specifically to integrated chopping blades and blade attachments mechanisms for food choppers.
2. Description of Related Art
In the course of preparing a meal, chefs and household cooks must often chop larger portions of food into smaller pieces. Smaller pieces of food are frequently desired either because they are easier to work with, or because a certain recipes call for them. However, it is usually inconvenient for a chef or household cook to manually chop large quantities of food into smaller pieces. This is due, at least in part, to the fact to that chopping takes time and effort, especially when a large quantity of food must be chopped into very small pieces. In addition, when a knife is used for chopping, the user risks cutting himself or herself with the knife, especially when the user is in a hurry.
To improve the food-chopping experience, therefore, a number of companies manufacture and sell food choppers. With a food chopper, a user can chop large quantities of food into small pieces quickly, without using a knife.
Typical food choppers have a plunger, blade assembly, and window. To use the food chopper, a user places a quantity of food in a chopping chamber under the window. The user then presses down on the plunger, causing the blade assembly to descend downward and chop the food. If the user desires smaller pieces, the user can repeatedly press on the plunger, each time causing the chopper to chop the food into smaller pieces.
Although food choppers are very useful for chopping food into small pieces, existing food choppers have some limitations. For example, the chopping compartment of a food chopper is generally small, so large food items cannot be placed within the chopping chamber. This small size is beneficial, however, as it helps provide easy storage, packaging, and transportation of the food chopper. Accordingly, if an item of food is too large to fit within the chopping chamber, a user must use a knife, or other external cutting device, to cut the food into smaller pieces. These smaller pieces are then manually placed inside the food chopper for further chopping. This can be inconvenient to a user, as the user must make extra items dirty (the knife), and place the smaller pieces, which the user may not want to touch, into the chopper.
It would therefore be beneficial to provide a food chopper with an integrated cutting surface. It would also be beneficial if the integrated cutting surface eliminated the need for a knife and the need to manually move the food into the chopping chamber.
In addition, after use, the user typically cleans the food chopper. During cleaning, the user must clean the blades of the chopper to prevent the spread of germs and bacteria, and to ensure that the blades are clean for future use.
It would therefore be beneficial to provide a food chopper with a blade attachment mechanism that allows a user easy access to the blades for cleaning, yet does not unnecessarily or inadvertently expose the blades to the user when the food chopper is taken apart for cleaning.
Therefore, there is a need for an integrated cutting surface included in the chopping compartment of food choppers. There is also a need for a blade attachment mechanism that allows the blades of a food chopper to be easily yet safely accessed for cleaning. It is to these needs that the present invention is primarily directed.